Event Calendar
RECENT EVENTS
WELLNESS MOOT COURT
Wellness Moot Court aims to empower students by debating on relevant themes around mental health and give them an opportunity to express themselves and drive change on mental health. Our initiative is to foster conversation on mental health.
The event featured a rapid back and forth debate taking place with inquisitive and insightful questions being answered by the opposing teams. Different viewpoints of the students were bought forth through this competition, with sound and clear reasonings.
Our Headmistress, Ms. Beena Rajiv, capped off the event by declaring the winners for the Best Speaker and the Best Team awards. The best speaker (boys) was awarded to Aarush Deepak Kalra, and the best speaker (girls) was awarded to Anushka Prateek. The best team (boys) was won by the ‘FOR’ team comprising of Akarsh Singh Deed, Dheepesh Harihara, Lowell Monis and Umair Afsar Suleman. The best team (girls) was won by the ‘AGAINST’ team comprising of Anushka Prateek, Khyati Saxena, Manya Narula, and Sajal Bhat.
CREATING AWARENESS ON E SAFETY AND BUILDING DIGITAL RESILIENCE
Ms. Elizabeth Mathew, School Counselor conducted sessions for middle school on 26th April and 2nd May 2021 to help students navigate the online world safely and confidently regardless of the devices, platform, or apps they use.
In the session, Ms. Elizabeth spoke about pertinent factors to keep in mind while using the internet. Like all aspects of our lives, going online conjures a range of emotions that can impact our wellbeing. Ms. Elizabeth introduced digital resilience and shared tips to build digital resilience.
Muvisha Ajay,12B and Harshita Ahuja, 12F Akshat Singh, 12I, and Tushar Tyagi,12I from Health & Mind Club conducted peer-led sessions on 25th April 2021.
The E-safety awareness webinars have provided our students with the knowledge and skills they need to stay safe in an online environment. We believe that our students are now empowered to acknowledge the benefits and opportunities offered by the online world while understanding the risks and avoiding potential harms.
Students of Health & Mind Club brought out a special video titled “SUN TOH LO” to raise awareness—in a safe, comfortable manner— about mental health.
This year, with COVID-19 affecting every aspect of our lives, we are feeling the impact of the pandemic on our mental health. Now more than ever, mental health matters and every action counts.
The stigma attached to mental health may be receding in general, but that does not mean the struggles are easy to talk about—especially when they are personal. Unfortunately, the conversations about stress disorders, depression, anxiety, eating disorders, addiction, and other personal challenges are often difficult. Small actions from recognizing stressors, to being there for a loved one can help support mental health and strengthen our communities during this difficult time.
The good news is that talking about mental health issues seems to be increasingly acceptable. As we learn more about mental health and mental illness, it is becoming easier to empathize and understand these concerns. It also provides us with the vocabulary to do so, for those new to the conversation.
We hope that this campaign will normalize mental health and promote better awareness and understanding in our community.
The Inaugural Open Mic event hosted by Health & Mind Club on 15th May 2021 was an endeavor to encourage students to come together to cast a light on their hidden talents. This event gave senior school students a chance to make their voice heard and celebrate themselves; in whatever style they chose whether reciting a poem or doing a song.
Open Mic Event was compered by Health & Mind Club students. Diya Khaitan from grade 12, Siddharth Tyagi, Livleen Kaur and Khyati Saxena from grade 11.
Health & Mind Club organized a webinar on “HOW TO PREVENT TOBACCO ADDICTION IN CHILDREN” for students of grade 12 on 30th May 2021.
World No Tobacco Day is observed on May 31st . The theme for this year is “Commit to Quit”. The objective of the webinar is to increase the prevention of substance abuse by raising awareness on its effects on both, mental and physical health. The webinar started with the welcome note by Ramisha Arora, Head Girl and Aneesh Seth, Head Boy.
Our distinguished guest speakers for the day were Dr TC Satish, Specialist Dermatologist, Union Medical Centre, Dubai and Dr Sreekumar V Nair , Specialist Psychiatrist, Mediclinic Welcare Hospital Dubai.
Health & Mind Club, mental health awareness club of DPS Sharjah was set up in 2018 and is affiliated to project MHEA, University of Washington, Seattle.
HEALTH & Mind Club students had an interactive mentoring session by mentors from Project MHEA( Mental Health for Every Adolescent). The event was held on 14th May 2021.
The panel from project MHEA from University of Washington, Seattle consisted of Sairandri Sathyanarayanan, Founder of Project MHEA. Sairandri is a senior at the University of Washington, Seattle, majoring in biology and minoring in chemistry. She is a Peer Health Educator and conducts workshops, panels, and other programs to promote mental health awareness, and wellness on campus.
Aniruddh Saxena, Director of Strategy and Operations. Aniruddh is a senior at UW and is currently majoring in Bioengineering .
Serah Prakkat, Director of Outreach and Media. Serah Prakkat, a DPS Alumni is currently a senior with an avid interest in human behavior and technology and intends to double major in Psychology and HCDE. In addition to MHEA, she is a part of another non-profit organization at UW named 'Kinspire' which aims to help educationally aspiring orphans in India receive the knowledge they deserve.
Whichever way we look at it, the internet has grown to influence every nook and cranny of our society and the way that students engage with information. The internet and online technology provide new opportunities for students learning and growth, but it can also expose them to new types of risks.
A campaign to raise awareness on E-Safety was held for grades 6th, 7th and 8th on 25th April 2021. Session for girls was conducted by Muvisha Ajay,12B and Harshita Ahuja, 12F and boys session was conducted by Akshat Singh, 12I and Tushar Tyagi ,12I
A campaign to raise awareness on how social media affects mental health was conducted for grades 8, 9 and 10. Excessive usage of social media can negatively affect teen mental health. Classroom sessions led by members of the health and mind club under the guidance of the counseling department were conducted on 8th October. The session equipped the students to identify at risk behavior and learn alternative ways to improve their presence on social media.
Awareness On Substance Abuse (October)
Classroom sessions for grades 8,9 and 10 boys led by members of Health and Mind club under the guidance of the counseling department were conducted on 7th and 8th October. The main goal of the campaign was to break the stigma associated with addiction, and to substitute it with knowledge and openness. By understanding the triggering factors and impact of drugs, students learnt how to protect themselves when exposed to addictive substances. By discussing this sensitive topic in classes, we aimed to help students identify the risk factors associated with substance abuse.
Happiness Hour For Ancillary Staff (October)
Students of Health and Mind club spread messages of wellbeing and positivity not only to students and teachers but also amongst the ancillary staff .In order to give a break to the helpers of the school from their normal routine, a musical session was arranged in the break time. The importance of mental health and steps towards achieving a state of positive well being was explained to them by students. Wearing green ribbons, the staff were receptive to the message shared by the club members.
Assembly Talks (September)
Students of Health and Mind club conducted awareness talks for students of grades 9 to 12. The aim of these sessions was to make students aware of the importance of good mental hygiene. Mental health is a way of describing social and emotional wellbeing. Teens need good mental health to develop in a healthy way, build strong relationships, adapt to change and deal with life’s challenges. The sessions empowered our students to know various ways to deal with the stresses of their student life.
Session with Serah Prakkat, MHEA Workshop (September)
Serah Prakkat, Head of operations UAE, MHEA came to school for a work shop and addressed the H&M club members. The students got a chance to talk about and ask questions on MHEA on a college level scale of operation and how the students themselves could contribute after school also.
Nukkad Natak (January)
Students of grades 9 to 12 performed a Nukkad Natak on 24 January 2019
highlighting the need to remove the stigma around mental illness. Through this play, students highlighted the need to talk openly about mental health and wellness, learn ways to support friends or family members if they have a mental health concern. The Nukkad Natak is a step towards creating awareness and educating other students and peers about the importance of mental health.
Amaranthine- Living the Journey
The Health and Mind club of DPS Sharjah was pleased to conduct a webinar on 3 rd October 2020 for the 10th-grade students on “Coping with exam stress” as they begin their preparations en route to attempting their maiden board exam. A very keen audience listened on as various important topics such as time management, physical and mental well being, tips on effective studying, managing stress and test anxiety
which were elaborated upon.
Eudaimonia-Pursue Well Being
On 26th September 2020, an online webinar was conducted for the girls of grade 10 through zoom. With exams fast approaching teachers have been trying to make online teaching not just enjoyable but also acceptable. Yet the growing dilemma regarding ‘How can I deal with all this anxiety?’ was not swept away. Hence the H & M club took the initiative to help their peers.Various informative topics were discussed such as the need for mental well-being, how to deal with stress, some thoughtful and personalized academic tips followed by; time management -how can it be achieved? The session concluded with a student driven Q&A Session.
Health & Mind Club Fitness Challenge
As Wellbeing Club of the school, our endeavour is to stress on the importance of Physical and Mental. Wellness which can be attained by listening to and taking care of our body for optimal health and functioning.
Students of the club shared their personal tips during the 7-week challenge. Information was shared through posters, presentations and videos.
Webinar on managing extracurricular
and academics
Trying to balance extracurricular and academics together puts undue pressure in students so this session was planned to give an overview on how to handle these aspects of school life. Students spoke about the practices that worked for them and how they created schedules to manage all the activities they were pursuing. We hope this webinar has helped grade 11 students to have an overview of how the senior years should be planned in a healthy and balanced manner and thereby ensuring a positive state of wellbeing. The speakers also answered the queries raised by the participants.
